This coming Friday evening – my first poetry reading in quite a while! I’ll be reading some older stuff and some newer(ish) stuff – I haven’t sketched out a setlist yet, so who knows, I might throw in “Queen of the Supermarket.” ;) (that’s an in-joke for my Springsteen pals) We’ll be reading for a fairly long stretch before taking a break, so I’ll probably aim for the lighter, less focused-attention-demanding material.

I’m pleased to be reading with three other poets who’ve also received Individual Artist Grants from the Indiana Arts Commission: Doris Lynch (who’s also a librarian at the local public library – yay, librarian poets!), Shana Ritter (who I’ve known for ages; she was a member of Source: Women Writers, a group I started in the mid-eighties and which met regularly for many years) and Sue Swartz. All three are terrific poets, so it should be a fun evening.

The reading is also planned to promote & celebrate the Bloomington Writers’ Guild, a relatively new addition to the local literary community. In conjunction, there will be an online auction of books and CDs by local Bloomington writers and artists. You’ll have to act fast; the auction opens at 6 pm Friday evening and closes the following Monday. I’ll try to post a link to the auction site, but it should be available from the Writers’ Guild website once the auction is live.

Now I just have to figure out what to read and, more importantly, what to wear….

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Poetry at City Hall: In celebration of the Bloomington Writers’ Guild and the Indiana Arts Commission. With readings by local IAC Individual Artist Program grant recipients: Anne Haines, Doris Jean Lynch, Shana Ritter, and Sue Swartz. There will be poetry, mingling and meeting, and sweets from Sweet Claire Gourmet Bakery. For more information see the Writers Guild website: http://writersguildbloomington.com/